In the SJ Update mailbag this morning we have this letter from Transition San Juan Island… You may have heard by way of friends and neighbors that Transition San Juan Island is launching at the Mullis Center, January 12, 2020 from 3 to 6 pm. Everyone of any age or political persuasion is invited to  Continue Reading

Vote counting equipment testing January 7 at 11:00 am A “Logic and Accuracy” test of ballot tabulating equipment used in San Juan County for the February 11, 2020 Special Election is scheduled for January 7 at 11:00 am. The test works by tallying the results of a prepared set of ballots to see if the  Continue Reading

By Louise Dustrude – For those with substance abuse problems, and for the people who love them, worry about them, or are exasperated by them, there is help available at Peace Island Medical Center. Lauren Olsen, MD, is a family practice doctor at Peace Island with training and experience in buprenorphine therapy for addiction. No  Continue Reading

Skagit Valley College Marketing and Communications earns seven marketing and public relations awards The Skagit Valley College Marketing and Communications team is proud to announce they won seven marketing and public relations awards — including one Gold — at the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) District 7 fall conference, that was held in Friday Harbor,  Continue Reading

Get the Grange Hall Cookin’ San Juan Island Grange #966 is raising funds for the construction of a new county- and state-approved commercially-certified kitchen. During their October monthly meeting, Grange members voted unanimously to dedicate $40,000 from the organization’s capital improvement savings account to a Community Kitchen Upgrade, provided our extended community could raise an  Continue Reading

The following press release was submitted by SJI EMS… As we close out 2019, we thought we would spend some time discussing some of the highlights of the year for San Juan Island Emergency Medical Services (SJI EMS). Expansion of Paramedicine Program One of the important programs that SJI EMS has expanded is our pioneering  Continue Reading

Ornaments now available by donation at the Home Trust Office Being able to participate at the Farmers’ Markets throughout the year and at the Holiday Market in December has been a wonderful means of outreach to our entire community for the San Juan Community Home Trust.  Not only have these Market interactions led to new  Continue Reading

One of Friday Harbor’s most memorable characters, Rodney Mulvaney, passed away unexpectedly on November 28. If you didn’t know him personally, you most likely would recognize him for his love of elegant, old-time Western-style attire – from his ever-present top hats and his vests, down to his high boots. He first came to San Juan  Continue Reading

At the December 18, 2019 regular School Board Meeting, The San Juan Island School District Board of Directors named Fred Woods as the final candidate for the position of Superintendent of San Juan Island School District, pending contract negotiations. Through a focused mentoring plan, Mr. Woods has been conferring regularly with current Superintendent, Kari McVeigh.  Continue Reading

Guest author Neil Stawski checks in again with another article on working toward a greener lifestyle… Going green is a lifestyle choice that many people are making these days, but it can be a major change that comes with a lot of effort. It’s not always easy to make big changes and stick with them,  Continue Reading

Look who’s interviewing Sheryl Crow – It’s Friday Harbor’s own Emree (Rhiana) Franklin! How cool is that? Proud parents Suzanne and Ken Franklin share this announcement… Dear Friends and Family, Exciting news is fun to share and I have some really exciting news about Rhiana (Emree) who was recently selected by Sheryl Crow for inclusion  Continue Reading

Ron Lehman shares these photos he shot of some mammatus clouds he saw over Mt. Vernon on Tuesday morning. Very interesting cloud formations and good thing he got the photos when he did – he says they were completely gone within about 15 minutes. Here’s more info on this kind of cloud on Wikipedia. Thanks  Continue Reading

Laura Norris and Griffin Bay Bookstore are lucky winners of one of James Patterson’s $500 Holiday Bonus awards. All across the country, 500 booksellers from Maine to California, Florida to the Dakotas, were each awarded the special bonus, 100 of them going bookstores specializing in children’s literature or with an outstanding children’s collection. This award  Continue Reading

OPALCO Rate Increase Held at 3% Board to Share Vision for Our Energy Future When OPALCO members open their bills in January, they will be, on average, $3.92 higher. Although rates were projected to increase 5-6% each year over the next five years, the Board decided to hold the increase to 3% in 2020 in  Continue Reading

While flood impacts in the islands are much less than for our mainland neighbors, every few years the islands get enough rain to cause localized flooding- especially in our more “urban” areas. With a chance of heavy rain in the forecast for later this week, now is a good opportunity for home and business owners  Continue Reading

Channel Preserve, Lopez Lopez Preserve Steward, Amanda Wedow, hosted a public scoping meeting in early October. The event was widely attended with break-out discussions covering a variety of topics, including signage, and dogs. Incorporating comments heard at the meeting, as well those submitted over the public comment period that followed, Land Bank staff are now  Continue Reading

Co-op Members Get Paid – Capital Credit Checks Going Out When you become a co-op member, you become an owner in OPALCO. OPALCO is a not-for-profit cooperative which means any margin at the end of the year goes back into members’ hands. Each year the co-op tracks how much you pay for power and that  Continue Reading

San Juan County is seeking volunteers to create opposing statements to place in the online Voter’s Guide for the upcoming February 2020 Special Election. San Juan County Council approved sending Resolution No. 49-2019 to voters. If approved, the measure would authorize a countywide sales and use tax of 0.20% for a period of 60 months,  Continue Reading

Story by Louise Dustrude… After 23 years heading County Parks, and nearly half that long running the County Fair as well, Dona Wuthnow has decided she’s ready to start a new chapter. She’ll definitely stay on the island, she said, and she hopes to work in something natural resource conservation-related. She is passionate about parks  Continue Reading

Island Senior is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae… As the year 2019 comes to an end we San Juan Islanders can count our blessings. We live on a beautiful island and we have a senior center with much to offer.  This year the Mullis Center has seen  Continue Reading

The San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) is dedicated to supporting the local San Juan Islands art community each year in the museum’s Artists’ Registry Exhibit.   With over 70 artists showcased, both established and emerging, the artists come from San Juan Island, Orcas, Shaw & Lopez Islands. The exhibit opens December 20 and runs until February  Continue Reading

Boyd Pratt launched his newest book, “Island Farming: History and Landscape of Agriculture in the San Juan Islands,” at the Grange Hall to a large, enthusiastic crowd of farmers, Grange members, and others on Friday evening. He highlighted three themes from the book – bygone farmers, fruit-growing, and sheep-raising – but there are a multitude  Continue Reading